TU Berlin receives 5 million euros for groundbreaking research!

TU Berlin receives 5 million euros for groundbreaking research!

The Technical University of Berlin recently received a commitment of a total of five million euros as part of the ERC Advanced Grants. This funding is intended to strengthen IT security and advance the fight against immune diseases. Particularly noteworthy is the award to two selected researchers whose projects promise groundbreaking research approaches.

Prof. Dr. Michael Franz from the University of California, Irvine will receive 2.5 million euros for his “REVITALIZE” project. In the next five years he will do part of his research at the TU Berlin. His focus is on security issues in critical infrastructure such as ports, train stations and hospitals. The aim of his project is to modernize outdated software, as it is often known to have significant security gaps. The methods used include translating machine language into compiler language to apply modern optimizations, comparing multiple software versions to identify deviations, and using “fuzzing” to identify vulnerabilities.

Research focus of Prof. Dr. Alexander Scheffold

The second recipient of the ERC Advanced Grant is Prof. Dr. Alexander Scheffold from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, who will also receive 2.5 million euros for his “RespecTreg” project. He will move to TU Berlin on October 1, 2025. His research focus is on the activation of regulatory T cells to combat autoimmune diseases. The goal is to identify structures that activate regulatory T cells in order to specifically control immune reactions. This work will be part of the “Simulated Man” (Si-M) research center in Berlin-Wedding.

The ERC Advanced Grants are aimed at established, leading Principal Investigators (PIs) who have achieved significant research successes. According to the European Research Council These PIs do not have any specific academic requirements to fulfill, but rather must be able to make exceptional research contributions. The grants can cover up to 2.5 million euros over a period of five years, with the possibility of applying for an additional 1 million euros for start-up costs.

Structure of the ERC Advanced Grants

The projects are funded on a “bottom-up” basis without predetermined priorities. Applications can be made in any research area, and the research must be carried out at a public or private research institution in an EU Member State or associated country. The selection is made by international peer reviewers who evaluate the applications based on their excellence.

Such initiatives are of great importance to research workers, as they not only provide sound financial support, but also open up opportunities for collaboration within a broad network of scientific institutions. According to the Funding database There are also initiatives to integrate talented scientists from non-EU countries into the ERC-funded teams and thus promote exchange and diversity in research.

In summary, it can be said that the ERC Advanced Grants will make a decisive contribution to the further development of research at TU Berlin. The funding won focuses on innovative approaches that are intended to promote both technical advances in IT security and significant advances in immunology.